Dar es Salaam. The chairperson of Tanzania’s commission of inquiry into violence linked to the 2025 General Election has called for fair and lawful accountability, cautioning against unjust prosecutions.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, Retired Chief Justice Mohamed Othman Chande said there was broad consensus that those responsible for the unrest must be held accountable, but stressed that justice must not come at the expense of fairness.
“We all agree that there must be accountability. No one has said accountability should be avoided or postponed,” said Justice Othman.
“But accountability must be fair. Senior national leaders we consulted advised that those who deserve to be held accountable should face justice according to the law, while those who do not deserve blame should not be punished.”
He said that some contributors to the inquiry had warned against sacrificing innocent individuals in the process of assigning responsibility.
“We received that advice and it was important for us to also listen to the views of the public,” he said.
The commission was established to investigate violence that erupted during and after Tanzania’s 2025 Tanzanian General Election.
